Youth Services professional development opportunities from LM

The Library of Michigan’s youth services webinars such as Ready to Read MI Storytime Tune-Up or Teen Clubs, are available any time on the Library of Michigan’s Webinar Archives.
Additional training can be found in our Niche Academy Staff Skills, such as Youth Services Basics or Transforming Teen Services, go to https://my.nicheacademy.com/staffskills to take a self-paced course.

YALSA

The Teen's Top 10 Voting Ballot for 2025 is now open! You can access it here.

The Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year! Nominators are members of teen book groups in fifteen school and public libraries around the country. Books eligible for nomination for the 2025 Teens' Choice List must be published between August 2023 to July 2024. The Top 10 will be announced in late May of 2025. Please encourage teens you know to participate!

In the News…

Federal Court Halts Dismantling of Federal Library Agency in ALA Lawsuit – ALA, 5/1/25 *Breaking News*

100 Days into the Trump Administration: Libraries weather attacks and fight back – American Libraries, 4/30/25

Libraries and Immigration Enforcement – Intellectual Freedom Blog, 1/24/25

27 Sustainability Ideas to Implement Right Now – American Libraries, 3/3/25

Public Librarianship and Food Justice: Working With and Alongside Communities – The Journal of Creative Library Practice, 4/14/25

Youth Services Programming Kits are back!

The Library of Michigan is excited to announce the launch of our new kit reservation system! Requesting kits will be easier than ever using LM’s new booking software.

Available Kits

·         Digitization Kits:

How to Reserve a Kit

To use the new booking software to request a kit, select the desired kit from the Equipment Catalog. You can see the kit availability and reserve specific dates using this system. Click the left and right arrows on the top left of the schedule to scroll through dates, or click “Go to Date” to check availability for a specific date. 

The default checkout period depends on the selected kit, but you can shorten reservations if desired. If you would like to book a kit for longer than the default checkout period, check the schedule and then email us at LM-Kits@Michigan.gov with your request. You can request available kits up to one year in advance. 

For more information about the kits, what they contain, accompanying documentation, and a link to the booking software, please visit: https://michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan/libraries/lm-kits 

If you’re ready to book, the link for the booking software is here: https://libraryofmichigan.libcal.com/reserve/equipment/kits 

Questions? Contact LM-Kits@Michigan.gov with any questions regarding the circulating kits. 

 

The project is made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Color Our World™ PSAs and Social Media Toolkit are available for public libraries

Log into the online manual to find the Media/PSA for Public Broadcast

A metadata file used to store information about a media file (like author, copyright, keywords, etc.).

Not a media file itself—usually accompanies other files to help with organization and editing.

A professional video and audio container format used in broadcast and production environments. Supports high-quality, uncompressed footage and metadata—commonly used in TV and film.

Developed by Apple, it’s a widely used video format that supports high-quality video and audio. Often used in editing environments (like Final Cut Pro) and for preserving quality.

A highly compressed, widely compatible video format ideal for online distribution and playback. Commonly used for final delivery to audiences, especially via the web and social media.

 

CSLP Social Media Toolkit

Available in two formats this year. PNG files and/or Canva templates.

 

1. PNG files that can be used as the graphical elements in your social media posts. 

Once you are logged into the manual (need your manual access code? Complete this form so Cathy can send that to you directly), you can navigate to the 2025 Social Media Toolkit or go directly to https://programs.cslpreads.org/2025-social-media-toolkit/.  

Just hit the download button once you're at that link and a zipped file will download all the imagery to your downloads folder on your computer.  Unzip and use from there.

2. Canva template of all the images can be customized to include elements such as your library logo, dates, and times of programs. Libraries will need a Canva account to access and use the templates, and since we avoided using Pro account elements, Canva Free should be sufficient. This is a pilot year on offering this option so feedback will be appreciated.  Thanks to our Social Media Committee! 

 

Canva Quick Links to Templates

·         Social Media Canva Templates (21 designs)

·         Color Our World Upcoming Events (1 design)

·         Event Flyer Canva Template (1 design)

·         Social Media Ad (1 design)

·         Templates for Various Color Our World Facebook Banners (3 designs)

·         Templates for Various Color Our World Facebook Event Banners (4 designs)

·         2025 Planning Calendar (12 months)

 


Hashtags:  #ColorOurWorld or #LibrariesColorOurWorld #MiSummerReading

 

This program is supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

 

 

Thank you,

Cathy Lancaster

Youth Services Coordinator

Library of Michigan
702 W. Kalamazoo St.
Lansing, MI 48915
My Pronouns: She/Her/Hers - See www.mypronouns.org to learn more.

LancasterC5@michigan.gov | 517-335-8129 | www.mi.gov/libraryofmichigan
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Join the MiYouth Listserv, created for Michigan public library staff to share and discuss children and teen programming and services.

 

 

 

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Acknowledge the incredible strength of students’ multilingual abilities.
Seek the Michigan Seal of Biliteracy for graduating seniors.

 

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Get personalized voter information on early voting and other topics at Michigan.gov/Vote.